Having my duvet laundered

I drape ours over the line and use a steam cleaner on it. Seems to freshen it up quite well.

Actually, thinking about it, I got mine from Johnson (dry cleaners) when I took mine in to be washed and dried.

Places like Lakeland sell duvet bags.

Good idea annep, thank you.

Well you need to find a dry cleaners but after that I can't think. Maybe buy some nice colourful zipped storage boxes. I got nice ones in Ikea to match bedroom decor. Look ok on top of wardrobes. Better than loft maybe.

Two of my duvets are 'dry clean only' but are beautifully soft and warm so I'm reluctant to get rid of them. The local supermarket plus dry cleaners (no dry cleaners locally) used to take them but they no longer dry clean duvets. Not sure what to do now. And storing them is another problem - I'm not sure the loft is the most hygienic place to put them, and they are supposed to be able to 'breathe' but we don't have anywhere else. Maybe blankets is the way to go.

Don't donate duvets that needs washed!!!

I want to get my new feather and down pillows washed and dried. (They absolutely reek, I didn't notice until I had slept on them so can't return them ?). I don't drive and getting them to my local place that will launder them and dry them will be difficult AND I need to pay £8 each for the privilege!!! They will fit in my washing machine individually but I have nowhere to dry them properly. I have tried febreeze etc to no avail.
Yes to animal shelters or homeless shelters for used duvets. Do food bank type places take duvets? (In good condition obviously).
Near me we have a place very like a food bank but with clothing and household goods. It's a referral only set up but wonderful. I only donate to them now.

kittylester
Reading your post above made me realise, I've said our duvets get dry cleaned. What I meant was that I send them to the cleaners, who I usually only use for dry cleaning. The duvets of course, get washed! D'oh!

You should never dry clean a duvet. They should only ever be washed!

I prefer washed too. Although recently like Greengran I have found fleece throws are so comfy and warm no weight at all.I usually discard the duvet and wrap one around me. It molds to your body.

Primark also have duvets and mattress/pillow protectors at very affordable prices - their bath-mats are really good value.
My winter duvet is filled with Hungarian goose down and came with a huge mahogany California King bed frame from Maceys (on ebay) I agree with others who say that the cost of cleaning a duvet is often more than buying a new one but there are some good ideas on here as to re-purposing your old ones.
My winter duvet costs £24 to be washed by a valet service. I don't like dry cleaning fumes and washing gets things cleaner than cleaning fluid.
I have various throws for this time of year which make the bedroom cosy and inviting.
I'm a big fan of nice bedlinen and prefer lots of proper pillows, not those tiny cushions.
Bring on the cold weather.

Our local night shelter will no longer accept double/kingsize duvets, so that's not an option. It is a sad fact that new ones are now so cheap. We bought a summer weight one for £3 in IKEA!

My new one came from Sainsburys, and its like a lovely marshmallow, and very 'cottony' too.

Sadly it is cheaper to buy a new one than laundering, but cotton and feathers are recyclable.

JackyB thats a good idea. I usually pay more than the cost of cleaning for my duvet because I need a really lightweight one. (fibromyalgia). However I don't see anything wrong with buying a cheaper one. Generally "you get what you pay for" but its not always the case nowadays. And we are all on different budgets!

I have never felt comfortable with a duvet. I use two large fleece blankets in the winter. One under, and one over me, with a cotton sheet and a bedspread. It's lovely and cosy to climb in between them, even on the coldest night, and they are nice and light. I usually wake up at some point, feeling too warm. Then I just kick the top fleece to the side of the bed. I can therefore easily adjust the warmth to suit myself. Making the bed is so easy, too, with no duvet covers to wrestle with.
As for washing the fleeces, I just pop them into the machine, then toss them over the bannister rail, and they are dry in no time at all.

Jaxie, after reading in ghastly, itch-making detail about dust mites in Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything', all our (feather/down/both) pillows went in the wash.

You do need to tumble dry them, but they come up beautifully. I only do one at a time, though.
As for washing duvets at home, might be OK but personally I would never risk it with ours - a big duvet will be so heavy when wet. I've only ever done duvet washing with a single summer-weight - and a cot duvet after Gdd had been sick all over it.

I have a normal front loading washing machine and it isn't big enough to take my double (expensive) duvet so it has to go to the laundrette where they charge £16 to wash and dry it. Our super king duvet is two inexpensive singles sewn together and as we only need 4.5 tog (even in the middle of winter) I can just get it into the washing machine. The singles are no problem.
So our guest bedroom duvet costs me £32 a year in laundry fees! Thank you OP for making me realise how silly this is. I'm going to replace the expensive one with a cheap one next time I see a special offer at my local supermarket.
Hope the local dog shelter pooches will appreciate their high-end duvet. :-)

Now you've got me worried: is my feather duvet seething with dust mites? Can feather & down duvets ever be successfully washed? I've tried to wash pillows and had to throw them away as they go lumpy and fusty.

I always wash my King size winter and summer duvets in my washing machine.. Just put the duvet into the washer, then fill it with hand hot or cold water and detergent/soap powder let it soak for about one hour and then with your hands just push up and down in the machine,, no need to agitate then turn machine onto spin cycle, then fill up again for the rinse, spin water out and repeat at least twice.. giving duvet a good two deep rinses. It will come up like new... Just make sure you stop machine when it fills up, don't let it start to agitate..

I had an expensive duvet that I washed and dried at the laundrette each year.
Then I threw it away and bought a new, cheap one.
Its lovely; my expensive one had gone flat over the years.

As I mentioned Telly it is difficult to be totally ethical when shopping and many man made fibres shed microscopic fibres when laundered causing pollution and damaging marine life. I prefer natural fibres, ethically sourced, where possible, but I also understand not everyone can afford to be so picky.

Having recently found out that some down originates from repeated plucking of live birds, it is now on my ever growing list of things that I refuse to buy.
It had not crossed my mind that it could be cheaper to buy than to clean. We also have an duvet that is designed to be clipped together for all year use but have found that it is way too hot to have both.

I also use a launderette with a large capacity and wash and dry it myself. I would never buy a feather one.